


and they were roommates

by thatsformetoknow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Miscommunication, roommate au, soft domesticity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsformetoknow/pseuds/thatsformetoknow
Summary: Coming home to Lance was something that Shiro had gotten used to far quicker than he had expected. They hadn’t really known each other when they’d moved in together, but it had been convenient for them, and here they were; six months later, and still going strong. Shiro would consider Lance to be one of his best friends, even, and there was nothing that Shiro looked forward to more after a long day of class than coming home to Lance and curling up on the sofa together to watch some Netflix with some food that they’d cooked days beforehand and had been keeping in the fridge.
Relationships: Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 64





	and they were roommates

**Author's Note:**

> I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT TO POST THIS THIS WAS FROM SEKIS ZINE THAT WAS SO LONG AGO

Coming home to Lance was something that Shiro had gotten used to far quicker than he had expected. They hadn’t really known each other when they’d moved in together, but it had been convenient for them, and here they were; six months later, and still going strong. Shiro would consider Lance to be one of his best friends, even, and there was nothing that Shiro looked forward to more after a long day of class than coming home to Lance and curling up on the sofa together to watch some Netflix with some food that they’d cooked days beforehand and had been keeping in the fridge. 

Sure, it wasn’t perfect. Their apartment was pretty small, and the landlord never really fixed the things that needed fixing, but Shiro thought that he was probably happier here than he’d been for a very long time. 

Currently, Lance was flicking through the channels, curled up beneath all of the blankets they owned between them, while Shiro was in the kitchen, trying to scrounge up what he could from their cupboards and fridge. He brought out the left over pizza and some doritos, putting them on the coffee table and watching as Lance lifted the blankets for him, and Shiro quickly joined him on the sofa. It took a few moments for Lance to settle them, snuggling up against Shiro’s side and tucking the blankets in around them, before realising that he couldn’t move from this position he’d tucked himself into to get any of the pizza. 

Shiro laughed and got some for him, putting it on a plate and giving it to him, glancing at the tv to try and figure out whatever rubbish it was that Lance had put on. He wasn’t sure, but it never mattered. The fun part of the evening was always spending it with Lance. He liked that Lance liked to snuggle up with him, because he’d never really had a friend quite like that before, and Shiro had always secretly been a cuddler, he just didn’t have anyone to cuddle with. 

So, Lance draping himself over Shiro any which way he liked, whenever he pleased was always something that Shiro enjoyed. Sometimes he’d tease him and feign annoyance, but Lance knew that that was all it was. He loved it really. Just like now, with Lance firmly pressed into his side and Shiro’s arm wrapped around him, he was warm and comfortable and happy. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Lance’s eyes started to droop; it always happened when it got late, and Lance always grew sleepy faster the warmer he was. And right now he was very warm. Shiro didn’t mind, though; he’d probably end up carrying Lance to bed at some point, tucking him in and clearing up after them before retiring to bed himself. 

The movie that was on right now was pretty bad, Shiro wasn’t going to deny it, but it was easy enough to get into, Lance making a sort of running commentary along the way and the two of them giggling together. They soon ran out of pizza and Shiro managed to heave himself up off of the couch, despite how Lance was clinging to him and head into the kitchen to grab something else. They really needed to do another food shop, it seemed, but they did have ice cream in the freezer. 

Lance lit up as he came back out with it, a tub and two spoons and they settled back together, digging in. The movie ended around the same time that they finished the tub, and they let it run on into whatever was playing next, only making it around half way through before Lance was snoring lightly in Shiro’s lap. Shiro shook his head with a fond smile, not saying anything as he gently lifted Lance up into his arms as he stood, carrying him into his bedroom, smiling at the way that Lance instinctively clung to him as they walked. He peeled Lance’s sheets back and slipped him into bed, covering him back up. 

He made sure he was comfortable, lingering for a moment and gently brushing his hair from his face, Lance stirring a little. Shiro closed his curtains and left him, closing the door behind him and going back into the living room, switching the tv off and disposing of all of their rubbish. He then folded their blankets and put them away, making sure everything was nice and tidy before retiring to bed himself, slipping between the covers and settling down with a soft sigh. Going to bed after a night like this always left him feeling cold, somehow, after having Lance warmly pressed against him for so long. Lonely, perhaps. He didn’t have too much time to dwell on it though, sleeping coming over him all at once, and before he knew it all of his thoughts were slurring together as he fell asleep. 

He was normally up before Lance day to day, because he had earlier classes than him. He always made sure to be quiet as he got up and ready, showering and grabbing a snack to have on the way, before flying out the door. It was a two hour class in the mornings, so he never got home until near midday with the walking there and walking back, but on the bright side that meant that Lance was always up when he did get back. Sometimes Lance had a class around about the same time, so they would miss one another, but today was a Tuesday, and that meant that Lance didn’t have class until two, which meant that he’d be there when Shiro got home. Was it strange to place so much of your joy upon someone you merely lived with? Probably, but while Lance was someone he lived with there was no merely about it. They were good friends. Best friends, and so that made it okay. 

From the sight he was met with when he got in, standing in the kitchen doorway, Lance clearly hadn’t heard Shiro come home. Lance was in his underwear, headphones in his ears, using the hob to cook something as he danced around the room, not paying even the slightest bit of attention as he sang and danced, moving the pan and being careful not to burn anything as he went. 

Shiro stood there for what felt like forever before Lance finally noticed him, jumping and then clutching his chest as if he’d been absolutely terrified. 

“Shiro,” he said, taking his headphones out of his ears and calming his breathing. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Shiro said, a grin on his face as he came in and sat down at the table. “Making something?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “What time is it-? I wasn’t expecting you back yet.”

“Round about twelve,” Shiro said and Lance furrowed his brows. 

“Oh,” he said, cheeks flushing a little. “Well, eggs?” 

“Please,” Shiro said and Lance served them up, cheeks still mildly pink. 

“Let me go and put something on,” he said, scarpering from the room and Shiro looked after him with a lazy grin. 

Lance prancing around the house wearing next to nothing wasn’t something that Shiro was entirely unfamiliar with. He often would only wear sweats with no shirt, but Shiro was known to do the same. Just underwear was less frequent, but Lance had clearly lost track of time. It was cute, somehow, Lance thinking he had the house to himself and using the opportunity to dance around in his underwear. 

He came back a few minutes later, significantly more clothed and started on making some eggs for himself, sitting down across the table from Shiro with them when he was done. They ate, and Lance asked Shiro questions about how his day had been so far, and his class, which was always sweet of him, because Shiro knew that Lance wasn’t exactly interested in Shiro’s course. But he always seemed interested in what Shiro had to say about it, and so Shiro always gave him the same in return, letting Lance talk to him for hours if he wanted to about the things they were studying. Shiro wished sometimes that he was as passionate as Lance. 

“Shit, I gotta go,” Lance said as he checked the time, grabbing up his plate and putting it in the sink to deal with later. “This evening,” he said, whirling around in the doorway to look at Shiro. “You and me. Spa. Face, hair, nails, it’s all happening, baby.”

Shiro chuckled and nodded, standing up and shooing him out of the room. “Go, you’ll be late.”

He heard the front door close and laughed softly to himself. Lance took very good care of himself, that much Shiro had known from the start, but since they’d gotten closer, Lance had begun to include Shiro in his antics, organising what he liked to call his “spa nights” as often as once a week if he could. Shiro didn’t mind; his skin always felt good afterwards, and he enjoyed spending time with Lance. Lance would always explain to him exactly what each product did and how it was good for his skin, and Shiro would make encouraging sounds and nod as if he understood a single word of it.

He pottered around the house for a bit, cleaning up from lunch and tidying some things away, before glancing at his laptop with a groan, knowing that he had an assignment that he definitely should have started by now… but he really didn’t want to just yet. Instead, he went to the bathroom and got out Lance’s spa basket, rifling through the things that were in there. He recognised most of the things as items they used regularly, opening up a few of Lance’s favourites and having a sniff. Shiro didn’t know how Lance always managed to find the best smelling stuff, but he did. He chuckled to himself and then put them away, grabbing up his keys and wallet and heading out. 

This was unnecessary. Completely unnecessary. Shiro should be at home starting on his assignment. Not in the beauty aisle of one of Lance’s favourite stores, sniff testing all of the products and scanning over the packaging. He couldn’t really afford it, but Lance was running low on some of his favourite things, and he knew he’d be upset if it came to tonight and he couldn’t use the things that he wanted. So, Shiro filled up his basket, with products that he could remember Lance loved, and a few new ones, hoping that he would like them, too, before going to the counter to pay. 

The cashier seemed to find it amusing that a guy like Shiro was buying such things, and teasingly asked if it was his girlfriend’s birthday. Shiro laughed it off and shook his head.   
“They’re for my roommate,” he said and she nodded knowingly, handing him his bag and his receipt. 

He picked up a few bits for the kitchen after that and headed home, bumping into Lance on the way up to their apartment. Lance looked at the bags and opened his mouth and closed it again.

“Retail therapy to avoid that assignment you should have started last Monday?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and Shiro gave a soft whine.

“No…” he mumbled, though he knew Lance was right.

Lance laughed and rolled his eyes, playfully shoving Shiro and fumbling for their key, opening up the apartment and letting them inside. “Well, show me what you got then.”

Shiro hesitated. “No.”

“No?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” Shiro decided, shaking his head.

“Why, is it sex toys?” Lance snorted and Shiro flushed deeply.

“No!” he exclaimed quickly. “No. Ugh, fine,” he said, thrusting the bag towards Lance. “It was supposed to be a surprise.

“A surprise?” Lance asked, opening the bag up, a small excited noise escaping him as he saw what was inside. “Shiro....” he said, looking up at him and pouting. “Why are you the sweetest man to ever exist, huh?”

Shiro flushed, biting his lip and giving a small shrug. “I noticed you were out of a few things…”

“You’re amazing,” Lance said, taking the bag straight into the bathroom and restocking his basket, ready for tonight.

***

“Shirooooo!” Lance called from his room and Shiro hauled himself up off of the couch to go and see what he wanted. “Do I look fuckable in this?” he asked, putting a hand on his hip and posing. 

Shiro hummed thoughtfully and looked him up and down. “Are you going on a date?”

“Yes, now answer the question. Do I look fuckable in this?”

“Yes,” Shiro replied. 

“Okay, but like- how fuckable? Would I look better in this?” he asked, grabbing a different shirt up.

“Uh…” Shiro said, tilting his head. Lance pulled the first shirt off and put the second one on and looked at him expectantly. 

“What jacket are you wearing?” Shiro asked. 

Lance went to his closet and pulled one out, holding it up. 

“Okay, wear that one.”

“This one?” Lance asked, pulling at the shirt that he was wearing.

“Yes,” Shiro said. “You look very handsome.”

“Thank you,” Lance said with a proud smile and then sashayed past him into the hall, jacket in hand, and put his shoes on. 

“You gonna be back late?” Shiro asked, following him out.

“Not sure,” Lance said. “Depends on if it goes well or not.”

“Who are you meeting?” he asked.

“Tall, dark and handsome,” Lance grinned and Shiro chuckled. “I’ll have my phone on.”

“Thank you,” Shiro said. 

Lance went out on a lot of dates. He often would give Shiro a fashion show, asking him which outfit he looked the best in, and Shiro would give him honest opinions on each of them. He and Lance had also since downloaded an app that would let them see where each other was through their gps. They didn’t often check it, only if one of them was late home for whatever reason, though Shiro had made a habit of checking it a couple of times throughout the night if Lance was out meeting someone he didn’t know. It might have seemed a bit over the top, but he knew that Lance was grateful, and it gave him peace of mind knowing that he knew where Lance was. He didn’t know what he’d do if Lance got into a bad situation and he wasn’t able to help. 

“Okay, well, I’ll see you later, then,” Lance said, throwing him a grin as he put his keys and wallet in his pocket. 

“Have fun,” Shiro called after him. “Hope it goes well!”

He heard Lance call something back in response and the door clicking closed behind him. Shiro hummed and padded into the kitchen, setting about cooking himself some dinner. Shiro didn’t cook all that often, but he did like to do it when Lance wasn’t around as Lance could be very distracting, bless him, and Shiro may or may not have liked to indulge in similar things as Lance. Such as singing and dancing around the kitchen. 

Lance hadn’t caught him yet, and as far as Shiro was concerned he wouldn’t in the future, either. Another factor that went into it was that often Lance would come home from his dates on a scale between mildly to incredibly drunk, and depending on where he fell on that spectrum, would be very grateful for a nice home cooked meal while he either lamented about or sung the praises of the date he had just been on.

Shiro didn’t go on many dates. He never really got out much to meet people, and he was perfectly content with that. He wasn’t on dating apps, as Lance was; he just didn’t have the energy. He’d rather meet someone in real life and feel the connection, rather than make petty small talk with strangers and hope something comes of it. He wasn’t in a rush, he’d meet the right person when it was time.

He didn’t mind Lance going on so many dates either, though. He had fun, whether he ended up seeing them again or not, and that was all that mattered. Shiro just wanted Lance to be happy, of course, so he didn’t mind anything that went with that. Eventually, he knew that Lance would meet someone that he actually wanted to get into a relationship with, and eventually somewhere down the line, Lance would move out and in with them. That was okay, Shiro knew that day would come; they were only supposed to be living together whilst in college, anyway. It wasn’t as though they wouldn’t still be friends… 

Shiro just didn’t particularly like the thought of coming home to an empty house, and not having Lance to share everything with, and do things like cuddle on the couch with, or get drunk with, or cook with, or do their spa nights together, or everything else that they did. 

Shiro didn’t particularly like the thought of coming home to someone that wasn’t Lance, either. He knew that no matter who he lived with in the future, they wouldn’t be like Lance, and he’d never have what he had right now again, so he had to make the most of it. Lance was wonderful, and Lance was probably his very best friend, and he really just wanted to hold onto that for as long as he could.

Eventually, after Shiro had cooked dinner and eaten his own portion, he heard the door click closed. It wasn’t too late, but a good few hours had passed and the last time that he’d checked his phone, Lance had moved from the restaurant to a bar, so he was surprised that Lance was back already. 

“Shiroooo,” Lance called and Shiro heard him curse as he knocked into something.

“In here,” Shiro called out to him, and he saw Lance appear in the doorway a few moments later, clothes rumpled a little and a pout on his face. “Hey, you’re back early.”

“Don’t remind me,” Lance huffed, flopping down on the couch next to him and nestling his face into Shiro’s lap. 

Shiro laced his fingers soothingly through Lance’s hair. “Date not go well?”

Lance shook his head. “No,” he mumbled. “Didn’t like him.”

“No? Why not?”

“Cause,” Lance mumbled. “Dunno, just didn’t. Did at first, but then didn’t.”

Shiro hummed understandingly, stroking his fingers over Lance’s scalp. “Do you want some water?”

Lance made a noise of displeasure and shook his head. 

“What about some food? I cooked while you were out.”

Lance perked up a little and looked up at him. “You did?”

“I did,” he nodded. 

Lance scrambled up off of his lap and swayed a little as he stood up. Shiro stood up and slid an arm around his waist, leading him into the kitchen and sitting him down at the table. He served him up a small portion, bearing in mind that he’d only had dinner a few hours ago, but Lance didn’t seem to care as he dug in, wolfing it down.

“Why don’t you cook every day?” Lance asked, pouting at him. 

“Because cooking takes a long time,” Shiro laughed.

“But it’s yummy,” Lance whined. 

“I’ll do my best,” Shiro gave in, and the smile that lit up Lance’s face was worth it. 

They stayed in the kitchen for a little while longer, Lance whining for a little more food, and Shiro couldn’t deny him, but bargained with it to get him to drink some water too, which he reluctantly did. Eventually, Lance was practically nodding off where he sat, so Shiro scooped him up into his arms, Lance giggling and burying his face in his neck, heavy in his arms as Shiro carried him to his room and tucked him up in bed. 

“Can I have a bedtime story?” Lance asked in a soft whine and Shiro huffed a laugh. 

“I think you need to get some sleep,” Shiro said, raising an eyebrow. 

Lance pouted. “Can I have a goodnight kiss?” Shiro leaned down and kissed his forehead, tucking the covers up around him. 

“Why don’t I cook you some breakfast, yeah? But only if you get a good night's rest.”

“Okay,” Lance nodded. “Sweet dreamies, Shiro.”

“You too, Lance,” Shiro said, before padding out of his room and closing the door behind him, going to his own. 

Lance was an adorable drunk, and there were few things that Shiro could deny him. He set his alarm for the following morning, just to make sure he’d be up in plenty of time to cook Lance an omelette, or something similar, and he could bring it to him in bed. 

***

Lance was rather fond of spreading his work all around the apartment. While Shiro had a desk in his room that he would confine himself to, while working, Lance said that that restricted his creativity, and he needed to spread himself about the house to get the best results. Shiro wasn’t sure how much of that he believed in contrast to Lance just couldn’t sit still for long periods of time, but today, Lance had been working in the living room for the past few hours, work spread over the floor and coffee table, and he was currently slumped against the sofa. Taking a “break”, probably.

Shiro had passed by a little while ago, and gone straight to the kitchen to make him a coffee, and bring him a snack. He came back into the living room, sitting down on the floor against the sofa next to him and nudging him with his shoulder. 

“Mm?” Lance asked, jumping. “I wassjust resting m’eyes,” he slurred and Shiro laughed softly.

“I thought you could use this,” he said, handing him the mug, and Lance took it gratefully, inhaling the steam. 

“You’re amazing,” he said, leaning against Shiro’s side and taking a long sip. 

“If you need a break though, you should take one.”

“Nah,” Lance said, shaking his head. “I’m nearly done, anyway. I gotta get this done, and then that’s it for the semester, and I can relax.”

Shiro hummed in agreement, knowing that he’d only just finished his last assignments this week, too, and they were both looking forward to the break. 

“Tell you what, keep going for another hour, while I cook us some dinner, and then we can put on a movie while we eat, yeah?” Shiro offered. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” Lance asked, nuzzling into his shoulder and Shiro laughed. 

“I’ll make your favourite,” Shiro added and Lance made another happy whining sound, reluctantly pulling back so that Shiro could get up and go into the kitchen. 

Shiro hadn’t been planning on cooking tonight, but he didn’t mind. He’d do anything for Lance, and what Lance needed right now was a nice meal and to just rest his brain for a couple of hours. No doubt he’d end up falling asleep in Shiro’s lap, which was something he was rather fond of doing, but Shiro never minded carrying him to bed, either. 

***

They went their separate ways over Christmas, each going home to see their families respectively, but they had decided earlier in the year to come home for New Years and host a party at their apartment. Shiro had never been to a New Years party before, but he was excited that they were going to be hosting it, inviting all of their friends, and their friends of friends so that things were lively. 

Lively they were, indeed. Somehow, they’d managed to cram a lot of people into their apartment, and everyone was drunk and having fun, though Shiro had lost sight of Lance a little while ago. He was always subconsciously seeking him out, waiting to catch a glimpse of him again. Most of the people here, Shiro knew, though their friends had invited people that he didn’t, so it had more of a party vibe than a friend gathering, and Shiro was having a good time. He was. He just… wished he knew where Lance was. 

Shiro frowned as the countdown started, everyone counting along with it, and he still couldn’t find Lance. Finally, he breathed out a sigh of relief as Lance came bowling into him, throwing his arms around his neck.

“There you are,” he said with a happy smile, stumbling a little. 

“Here I am,” Shiro smiled back, hands sliding around Lance’s waist to steady him. 

Lance looked at him for a few moments, opening his mouth as if he had something to say, but was cut off by the cheers around them, people shouting “Happy New Year!” around them, and then there were lips covering his own. Lance’s lips. Lance was kissing him. 

It took Shiro a moment to register what exactly was happening, but then he was kissing him back, couldn’t get enough; never wanted this to end. It felt so- so right. Of course it did, of course he should be kissing Lance right now, of course Lance should be in his arms, because he was in love with him. 

Of course he was in love with him. 

How could he possibly ever have thought otherwise? How could Shiro have possibly ever thought that he didn’t want this for the rest of his life? That he’d be content to let Lance go and fall in love with someone else? He couldn’t, of course he couldn’t, he couldn’t bear it. He was in love with Lance. 

The rest of the night went by in a blur. Shiro was aware that he’d lost sight of Lance at some point, and people had left. Eventually, it was just him, navigating his way through their messy apartment, trying to find his way to Lance, or to his bed, he wasn’t sure. He thought that maybe someone had topped his drink up a few times after the countdown, and his movements were slow and stilted. Where was Lance? Where was his bed?

“Easy there, big guy,” he heard beside him, an arm slipping around his waist and holding him up. “Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he said, guiding Shiro to his room and laying him down in bed. 

Then Shiro was aware of Lance making him drink a little water, and then tucking him in and kissing his head. 

“Lance,” he mumbled. “Lance, I love you,” he said, but he couldn’t see Lance in the room anymore, and maybe Lance had just left, or maybe it had been five minutes, or ten, he couldn’t tell. He’d just have to tell Lance tomorrow, instead. 

Shiro woke up with the hangover from hell, but that was to be expected. His memory of the night before was a little fuzzy, but his lips were still tingling from where Lance had kissed him. Lance had kissed him. Or had he kissed Lance? No, Lance had kissed him, he was sure of it. He couldn’t really… be sure of anything. 

He got out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom to throw up, and then stood up, brushing his teeth and getting into the shower. He felt a little better after that and put some loose clothes on, heading into the kitchen to see if he could find some food. 

Lance was in there already, laying half draped over the table with a half eaten piece of toast tossed on it in front of him. 

“Hey,” Shiro said, voice gravelly and Lance jumped. 

“Hey,” he said, looking up at him, looking equally as worse for wear, if not worse than Shiro. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” Shiro said and Lance laughed. 

“Yeah, me too,” he said, blowing out a breath. “You were pretty out of it last night,” he said with a lazy grin and Shiro laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Yeah, I think I had a little more than I planned to,” he said. “I don’t… remember a lot after a point.”

Lance huffed a laugh and looked down. “Well, I got you to bed eventually,” he said. 

“Thank you,” Shiro replied, going to the toaster and putting another few slices in. 

“Of course,” Lance said. “I mean, I think I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve done it for me.”

“You want some more toast?”

Lance shook his head. “Nah, I think I’m gonna go out and get some air, might help clear my head a bit, you know?”

Shiro nodded. “See you later, then?”

Lance nodded, smiling at him and then he left. Shiro heard the front door close a few moments after. That… hadn’t been how he expected this morning to go. They were supposed to blush and remember how they kissed at midnight and remember how right and good it had felt and confess their love for one another and live happily ever after. Right…?

Unless, that wasn’t what Lance wanted. He seemed a little… off, this morning, and Shiro wasn’t sure that it was all because of the hangover. Maybe… maybe Lance didn’t remember. Or maybe he did remember, and he didn’t want to remember. Or maybe… maybe he regretted it. Maybe he thought they were better off as friends. Maybe it had been something he’d done on the spur of the moment, and hadn’t realised how into it Shiro would get and now he was a little weirded out. Maybe it had been a friendly kiss. Maybe… Maybe Lance didn’t see Shiro in the same way that Shiro saw Lance. 

Shiro sat down in his chair with a heavy sigh as he waited for his toast to pop up, but when it did he couldn’t find the energy to get up and go and do something with it. Lance wasn’t in love with him. Lance didn’t want to be with him. If Shiro brought it up now, it would only make things worse. Lance would feel awkward, and he’d have to explain to Shiro that he just didn’t feel the same and Shiro didn’t know if he could take it. The only thing he could really do was… to leave it until Lance brought it up. If he did. He may not, and that was okay. That would… be okay.

***

After that, things carried on and neither of them talked about it. Class started again mid January and things went back to normal. Shiro was half convinced at this point that the kiss had been some sort of fever dream and he’d imagined it in its entirety. He’d managed to push it to the back of his mind, however, the crushing realisation that he was in love with Lance, was not so easy to suppress. 

Thankfully, they already had a pretty touchy feely relationship, so his desires to cuddle with his best friend weren’t anything new; they’d been doing it pretty much ever since they first moved in together. Shiro just now tended to… stare at Lance longingly a bit, and wish that things were different. 

But things weren’t different, and that came crashing over Shiro when Lance called out to him one evening, and when Shiro went over to see what he wanted, found him all dressed up in his room, with clothes thrown around haphazardly. 

“Do I look good in this?” he asked, and Shiro swallowed, feeling his heart pinch. He did. 

“Very fuckable,” he said, as per Lance’s usual question. 

“No…” Lance said, forehead creasing into a frown, as he shook his head. “Do I look good in this?”

“Why, are you trying to impress someone?” Shiro asked, tilting his head. 

Lance rubbed the back of his neck and gave a small shrug. “I mean, yeah, kinda.”

“Oh,” Shiro said, swallowing. “I didn’t know you uh, found someone.”

Lance bit his lip and looked down, the air suddenly awkward between them. 

“Well, you look very good, always,” Shiro said. “But you also look very good in that. Great boyfriend material.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Lance said, looking back to him with a soft smile. 

“Well uh, I hope it goes well,” Shiro said, standing aside as Lance grabbed his jacket and stepped past him into the hall. 

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

Shiro watched him go numbly, before going back into the living room and slumping down on the sofa, switching the tv off. That was that then. Lance had found someone that he really liked and it wasn’t him. Lance looked nervous, which meant that whoever this person was was important to him, and Shiro hoped it went well for him, really he did. He just wanted Lance to be happy above all else, nevermind his lonely old heart. That wasn’t important.   
Shiro jolted out of his wallowing a little while later at the sound of the doorbell, and he stood up, frowning as he went to answer it. Who would be coming here at this time in the evening? 

They weren’t expecting anyone. He went over anyway as it sounded again, Shiro muttering under his breath, “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

He opened the door, frowning as words failed him. It was Lance. Maybe he’d forgotten his key, because why else would he be ringing the bell? That had to be it. 

“Did you forget-?” he asked, but Lance cut him off before he could continue. 

“Shut up,” he said and Shiro did. 

He brought out a bouquet of flowers from where he was holding them behind his back, and in his other hand he was holding a bag from their favourite place to get take-away from. He held the flowers out to Shiro, and Shiro took them confusedly from him.

“I’m kind of in love with you, and by kind of I mean not kind of at all, kind of more like absolutely and completely in love with you,” he said all at once. 

Shiro blinked once and then twice as he tried to process what Lance had just told him. “You- what?”

“In love with you,” Lance said, a small smile spreading over his face and he bit his lip as he tried to hold it back. 

“But- you- what?” Shiro asked and Lance laughed softly. 

“Are you going to leave me on the doorstep of my own house?” he asked, and Shiro quickly moved aside to let him in. “I was hoping you’d go on a date with me.”

“I’m not dressed,” Shiro said dumbly and Lance laughed again. 

“That’s okay,” he said, leading Shiro into the living room. “I kind of always liked our couch, anyway.”

He put the flowers and the food down and they sat down, and then Shiro was smiling widely, pulling Lance into his arms and resting their foreheads together. 

“That was so mean,” he murmured, cupping Lance’s face. “Making me think you’d found someone else, I was miserable.”

“I was only gone for less than an hour,” Lance laughed softly and Shiro could feel his warm breath against his face. 

“A very long hour,” Shiro mumbled.

But he didn’t have to think about it anymore, because then Lance was kissing him, and it wasn’t like last time, because this time Lance was in love with him, and this time it meant something, and this time they both knew it. 

“I love you, too,” he mumbled against Lance’s lips, and felt the smile that spread across Lance’s face in response as he kissed him harder.

**Author's Note:**

> lmk what u think !!


End file.
